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Wednesday, April 19, 2017

2017 Jakarta Governor Election Wednesday April 19,2017

Residents of the Indonesian capital are electing a governor on Wednesday April 19,2017 after a polarising campaign that undermined the country's reputation for practicing a tolerant form of Islam.

The runoff election pits the minority Christian incumbent, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, against a former Cabinet minister, Anies Baswedan, who has courted the support of conservative clerics who oppose electing a non-Muslim.

The Jakarta election battle, which stirred religious and ethnic tensions, has highlighted the growing strength of hard-line Islamic groups in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

More than 13,000 polling places opened for Jakarta's 7.1 million eligible voters.

Ahok is on trial for blaspheming the Quran and hundreds of thousands have protested against him in Jakarta, calling for him to be imprisoned.

Baswedan and Ahok were neck in neck in opinion polls released earlier this week